Chicken and spinach patties

(makes 10-12 patties)

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay's Fresh and Light 

These tasty little patties were whizzed up in the food processor and I thought this meal would be a great for the little one to try, however they were still a bit tricky for her to munch through. It did make a yummy dinner for us though and hopefully she'll be able to join in soon! She ended up having her ones crushed in her vegetable puree, which she still enjoyed :) It has been fun thinking and investigating some finger food options for the whole family, though it is usually a bit more fidgety to prepare, a luxury of time that I miss having! Thankfully I could recruit my sister to help me this time round, but other than rolling out the patties it is pretty quick, manageable between rounds of picking little bub up for cuddles!

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
200g English spinach
1/3 C flat-leaf parsley
2 stems of green shallots
1 thick slice fresh bread
200g chicken breast fillet
400g chicken thigh fillet
1 egg
100g feta
1/3 C sesame seeds

To serve:
50g mixed salad leaves
120g cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
olive oil
caramelised balsamic vinegar
fresh Turkish bread, optional

Method
1.Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a tray with baking paper.
2. Wash, trim and blanch the spinach for one minute in boiling water. Drain then pat dry and squeeze out any excess water. 
3. Wash and roughly chop the parsley and shallots.
4. Using a food processor, pulse the bread until it has formed large breadcrumbs. Add in the meat and process together. Add in the egg, spinach, parsley and shallots and process until well combined. Remove from the food processor into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

5. Crumble in the feta and form small patties. Dip both sides in sesame seeds.
NB. The mixture is quite soft and sticky, but will firm up once cooked.
6. Pan fry on medium heat for 3 minutes each side, then place on a tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
7. Prepare the salad by washing the salad leaves, tomatoes and cucumber. Dice the cucumber and halve the cherry tomatoes. Toss together with the salad leaves in a serving bowl and season with olive oil, salt and caramelised balsamic vinegar. You can also serve as sandwiches with fresh Turkish bread if you need some carbs!

Baby modification: make the patties before seasoning with salt and pepper and don't dip in sesame seeds (if they're still too young), and maybe make them a bit smaller so they're easier to grab!